33. April

THIRTY-THREE

APRIL

Kellan was gone. Dead. He had to be. In my mind, I could still see the explosive gunshot, the flash of the muzzle, the spray of blood as the bullet tore into my brother. My eyes were swollen and puffy from crying. When they'd pulled me from the van, leaving him behind, the pool of blood around him had been growing larger by the second. My brother was dead.

I swiped a hand across my face, wiping the tears and snot away. The man beside me, the one who'd shot Kellan, had a gun jammed into my ribs. From the look on his face, I almost thought he was hoping I'd try something. In the distance, a warehouse loomed. It seemed to be where they were taking me, but I had no idea why. What was their plan?

The man beside me leaned in, and I flinched as his lips almost touched my ear. "You are a sweet piece, aren't you? Even if you've let one of those filthy things fuck you, I wouldn't be opposed to showing you what an actual man could do. I guarantee my cock tastes better than some nasty shifter dick."

"Knock it off," the driver called over his shoulder. "She's for Ryland. He's already gonna be pissed. No reason to make shit worse."

The guy beside me leaned away, and I breathed a sigh of relief. My skin crawled thinking about what he'd said. The idea of one of these men even touching me made me want to vomit.

The car came to a halt in front of the warehouse, and I was pulled roughly from the SUV. I stumbled in the gravel of the parking lot, and the guy who'd killed Kellan yanked at my arm, holding me up. I stumbled into the garage, noting the rollup door. The hunter who'd been driving hit a button and the door automatically began lowering. The warehouse was small, and I couldn't tell if it was some type of front for the hunters or a vacant building they'd taken over.

We kept moving deeper into the building, and with each step, I was losing more and more hope. I dropped my head and sobbed.

"Shut the fuck up," the third man said.

"You killed my brother, you asshole. Fuck you."

His eyes widened, and he pulled his hand back to slap me, but the driver caught his wrist. "If you put a mark on her, Ryland will have your ass. Chill. This is almost over. No reason to get shot over a shifter-fucker."

The one who'd tried to hit me glared in my direction but finally nodded and dropped his hand. As though he'd heard them say his name, Ryland appeared out of the shadows. I almost screamed in surprise. It was like some malevolent spirit stepping out of a nightmare into reality. The one thing I could tell was that he was well and truly pissed. The look on his face sent fear pulsing through me.

He walked straight toward me and took my hand. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

I couldn't speak. Instead, I simply shook my head. Ryland nodded, and the cloud of anger descended on his face again. Slipping a gun out of his waistband, he looked at the men standing behind me and snarled, showing his teeth.

"Which one of you shot her brother?"

The three men took an almost simultaneous step back. Their voices stumbled over one another as they tried to explain what happened and why. The fear in their eyes told me all I needed to know about the kind of person Ryland was—if I hadn't already been sure.

The guy who'd shot Kellan held his hands up. "You said if he talked to Steff, we needed to take him out."

Ryland sliced a hand through the air like a knife. "No, you fucking idiot. I said that if he talked to Steff and he was going to ruin the plan, then take him by force. Then I could find out what he said. I did not mean you should shoot up the goddamn house in the middle of the damn day. It did not mean putting a bullet in him and drawing unwanted attention." Ryland shook his head and let his shoulders slump. "You realize we've already brought down more heat than we were supposed to? I've had to go into hiding. I've lost my cover job at the school. The boss isn't happy. Then you three fuck-ups go and try to be Navy seals or some shit?" He cocked his pistol and stood straighter, a look of decision on his face. "One last time, which one of you shot the brother?"

The driver and the third guy jumped away from the one who'd killed Kellan. He looked at his two friends in surprise, then back at Ryland. He held his hands up, looking panicked. "Hang on now. I was following orders."

Ryland shook his head. "Because of you, we have a dead man on our hands and a bunch of half-breed animals on our tails. I can't tell you how much I hate it when someone can't listen."

Coldly, Ryland lifted the gun and pulled the trigger. The shot boomed inside the warehouse, and a neat red hole appeared in the hunter's forehead. A spray of blood and gore shot out from the back of his head and his body fell backward, slamming into the concrete. My knees buckled, and I slid limply to the ground. I couldn't tear my gaze away from the dead man lying on the floor, from the pool of blood slowly puddling around his head, the sightless eyes staring at the ceiling. An awful sound echoed through the building. It took a moment to realize the sound came from me. I was screaming.

Ryland shoved his gun back into his belt and knelt next to me, lifting me back to my feet. "I'm sorry you had to see that, April. You have to believe me when I say your brother really wasn't supposed to get hurt. I apologize for that."

I was gasping for breath, fresh tears pouring down my face. Ryland brushed the strands of hair from my face, and I flinched away from his touch. He looked sad that I didn't want him to touch me.

"That hurts my feelings, April. I understand, though. I don't blame you. It has been a rough day."

"Luca? Were you… the one?" I mumbled through the tears.

Ryland nodded and smiled like a proud boy showing his mom something he'd worked hard on. "Were you excited about your gift? I thought about sending the video, but thought that was overkill. I can still show you once we've gotten out of here and you've calmed down. I'm sure you'd love to see how he screamed and begged. I'd wanted to do worse when the first article came out. I couldn't believe the lies he was telling. All those vile things and fake pictures." He drew a gentle finger across my cheek, making my skin crawl. "You're sweet. No one could believe you'd do such awful things. I know you. I've loved you for so long. You have no idea how excited I was when I saw you in the bar that night. I knew our time had finally come."

He walked me over to a steel folding chair and helped me sit down, then snapped his fingers at the two remaining minions. "Water. Now. Some for her to drink and some to clean this blood off her."

The men worked quickly, obviously not wanting to end up like their friend on the floor. I stared into the void, doing my best to keep my eyes off the dead body. I wondered what Steff was doing. He'd surely gotten to the house by now. All the blood. Did he think I was dead? I still felt the lump in my pocket. The watch Kellan had slipped in there just before he'd gone unconscious. Would it really be any help? I wasn't sure and couldn't allow myself to hope.

The men scrubbed my brother's blood off my hands and arms, then handed me a bottle of water to drink from. I took a sip but stopped. Even the taste of water made me want to throw up. I held it in my lap and stared at it while the hunters moved around me.

Ryland pointed to the back of the warehouse. "Brock, get the truck ready to go. We have to leave soon. God knows how far behind the shifters are. Carl, make sure the tripwires and timers are set. I want us out of here before the building blows."

Blows ? My heart hammered away in my chest even faster. What was he planning to do? Was he going to blow up the building?

I gritted my teeth and worked up the courage to speak. I looked Ryland in the eye, and said, "What are you planning, Ryland?"

He smiled sadly. "The shifters are coming. One thing those creatures are good at is tracking. We planned on them following us. Coming to the rescue, you might say. We've made sure this is the last place they'll ever see." He shrugged. "The boss will be pissed that I killed the dragon, but sometimes plans change. Once the beasts are dead, we can move on from Lilly Valley.

"The lady dragon and her whelp will still be here, but even I can't bring myself to kill a baby. I told you before, I'm not a child killer. And leaving those girls without a mother is a pretty shitty thing to do. I'll leave their fates up to our boss."

I could barely breathe. He was cruel and heartless. I shook my head at him. "Why are you doing this? What did the shifters ever do to you? All they want to do is live their lives."

A flash of rage swept across Ryland's face. "They are not of God. Unnatural creatures should not exist. They are creations of Satan, and go against everything God deemed holy and natural."

I blinked at him. "Wait. God? Are the hunters some crazy religious cult or something?"

"This isn't a joke, April."

"I'm not joking. I'm trying to understand how you all can do these horrible things."

"Don't you understand? It's not horrible. It's glorious. It glorifies God. We live by a code, and that code is to rid the world of all unnatural things. The Lord did not create half-animal, half-human monsters. We will eradicate them all, one city, one town at a time." He smiled. "I'll show you. Soon, you'll understand soon. Once you're one of us, a true believer, you can become my wife. We'll sweep across this country, rooting out every beast of the night. We will create a world in God's image and be a family."

The thought of that repulsed me. My mind, body, and soul revolted against the idea of doing anything with this man. Especially murdering innocent people. That's what shifters were, they were only people. The hunters wanted to kill them simply because they'd been born different.

I shook my head and grimaced in disgust. "My brother was just killed in front of my eyes. You and your cult killed one man and mutilated another. Nothing you have done has been done for God . You are the opposite of what God wants. What gives you the right to be judge, jury, and executioner?"

Ryland leaned forward and grabbed my chin hard enough to hurt, but I refused to make a sound. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd hurt me.

"You need to watch your tongue. The Bible says a woman should learn quietly with all submissiveness . I've done so much for you. I'd think you could at least thank me for it."

I glared at him, not saying a word. Instead, I tried to force him to feel all the hate and rage I had for him.

I sneered at him.

"If I didn't love you so much, I'd teach you some manners by force. Spare the rod isn't just for children. Remember that. Our organization isn't one to be messed with. Our leader is a powerful businessman. He has politicians in his back pocket. This is happening. The shifters will all die. You'd be wise to choose the winning side."

The hunter named Brock came running back from the far end of the warehouse and called out to Ryland. "No movement on the cameras. I think we managed to dodge being followed."

"Good. That means we should have at least an hour before they track her here. Set the front door to blow anyway, in case you're wrong."

Brock jogged off to do Ryland's bidding. Panic set in. I had to do something, but I didn't know what. Steff, Tate, and everyone were on the way to try and save me. If they walked into this building after we left, they'd all die. How did I stop Ryland? I had to do something.

I was on the verge of leaping from the chair and trying to wrestle the gun away from Ryland when a warm, relaxing calm spread down my spine and into my stomach. I frowned then suppressed a smile. It was the feeling I always had when Steff close. He hadn't claimed me yet, but we were mates. I could always sense him. He was nearby. My God, he was probably inside the building. Hope filled me, and I almost cried with relief.

Ryland walked over and took me by the arm, lifting me up. "Time to go. I need to introduce you to my boss. We'll need his permission before I can convert you into a believer."

I struggled and yanked my arm from his grasp. He snatched at my arm again, grabbing it hard, sending a jolt of pain up into my armpit. "Stop being difficult and accept this. You have no idea how good your life can be."

"I'll never love you." I spit in his face. "You'll never be half the man Steff is."

The rage in his face was like nothing I'd ever seen in my life. He looked like he'd gone crazy with anger. He jerked my arm, shaking me. "Man?" he screamed. "I'm a man. Not that fucking thing. I'll have to wash the stink off you before we get married."

He drew his hand back and slapped me across the face. My head jerked to the right, and blood flew from my mouth as my cheek was cut open on my teeth. I slumped to the ground, dizzy with pain. Ryland stood over me, opening his mouth to say something else, but the quiet of the warehouse was broken by a roar of storming anger. The roar even made my gut grow cold. A moment later, Steff galloped out of the darkness in full grizzly form, a massive charging beast with glowing eyes of rage—eyes that were locked on Ryland.